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A Run on Stylish Surgical Masks
Can't Disguise Hong Kong's Fear

By

Sarah McbrideStaff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated April 2, 2003 2:58 p.m. ET

HONG KONG -- On the streets of this city, a metropolis gripped by a mysterious pneumonia and the fear of infection, wearing protective surgical masks is now the norm. For Prudence Mak-Borelli, it is also a fashion statement.

Crossing a busy pedestrian bridge in the Wanchai district, Ms. Mak-Borelli, a jewelry and accessories designer, sports a surgical mask topped with a tan gauze overmask, onto which she has embroidered a red sequined flower pattern.